1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is related to a device for holding and separating articles during washing and drying and more particularly to a flexible member having a plurality of pouches in which the articles are disposed during washing and drying.
2. Description of Related Art
A problem frequently encountered in every household is the separation of laundry and the need to match socks, and other paired items of clothing. Much time and energy are required to sort the laundry to find a sock of the size, color and pattern which matches a similar sock. This problem is magnified when the laundry include clothing from several adults and several children.
The applicant is aware of devices to hold laundry.
Allen in U.S. Pat. No. 3,036,616 discloses an integrated article washing unit for washing a variety of articles of clothing in a single operation. It comprises a series of individual containers each of which serving to hold at least one article of clothing for washing including hosiery.
Gould in U.S. Pat. No. 5,253,775 discloses a combined hamper and laundry bag which are used for separating large and small articles, most particularly socks. The bag is placed into the washer and dryer.
Hamdan in U.S. Pat. No. 5,503,476 discloses a pre-sort and organization laundry apparatus including a laundry bag. The bag has a plurality of pockets on the outside surface for holding objects of various sizes including socks. The bag also has a hanging means and a closure means.
Masi in U.S. Pat. No. 5,803,605 discloses a compartmented laundry bag for washing and drying small articles such as socks. The bag consists of a main pocket and multiple small, individual pockets which are located on each side of the main pocket. A number of embodiments are disclosed.
While these devices may be useful, they serve either limited purposes and a more versatile, utilitarian device is needed.
It is an object of the present invention to have a device which can be easily mounted on the agitator of a washing machine and can contain a plurality of articles to be washed.
It is a further object of the present invention to have a device to hold a plurality of pairs of articles to be washed, wherein each pair is separated from the other pairs.
It is another object of the present invention to have a device which may be disposed in a clothes drier after the washing has been completed.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a means to sort pairs of articles to be washed and to avoid the sorting and matching the articles after washing.
In accordance with the teachings of the present invention, there is disclosed the combination of a washing machine having a rotating or oscillating agitator and a sock saver device, the sock saver device is a substantially flexible member having a first means thereon to mount the sock saver device onto the agitator for rotation or oscillation in unison. A second means is formed externally on the sock saver device for carrying respective pairs of socks thereon and for maintaining the respective pairs of socks together during operation of the washing machine. In this manner, the respective pairs of socks are always matched and are not separated or lost.
In further accordance with the teachings of the present invention, there is disclosed a method for keeping pairs of articles separated during washing in a washing machine. A flexible member is provided having a plurality of pouches formed externally thereon. The flexible member has means thereon to mount the flexible member on an agitator in the washing machine for rotation or oscillation in unison with the agitator. A plurality of pairs of articles to be washed are matched. Each pair of articles is inserted in a separate pouch in the flexible member. The flexible member is mounted on the agitator. The flexible member containing the plurality of pairs of articles is washed in the washing machine. The flexible member is dismounted from the agitator. The flexible member and the plurality of pairs of articles contained in the pouches is dried. Each pouch is opened and the clean pair of matched articles are removed from each pouch. In this manner, the pairs of matched articles are washed and dried and separated from all other pairs of articles.
In still further accordance with the teachings of the present invention, there is disclosed a laundry container for holding matched articles of clothing during washing and drying. The laundry container has a substantially flexible member having a mounting means thereon. A plurality of pouches are carried on the flexible member in which the matched articles of clothing are contained during the washing and drying. The matched articles of clothing are always matched and are not separated or lost.
These and other objects of the present invention will become apparent from a reading of the following specification taken in conjunction with the enclosed drawings.